Julia's POV
It's cold. There's that wind again, freezing as ever. My fur's faded to a miserable grey hue. It used to be a light pink, ruffled by the playful Sinnoh breezes. Now it's been blown flat by the chilling winds. The diamond in the middle of my forehead used to shimmer in the dawn light but now it's lackluster and milky like a pearl. These plains have been blown flat by the constant gale and are a pathetic replacement for the lush grasses that I used to play in with my brother and best friend. I wonder where there are now…
Julio was my brother, older than me by a good year or two. That Flareon used to worry too much, 'what would dad think about this', 'what would happen if we did that'. He was the one that normally kept us out of trouble when we were kits. But there was one time when we were playing a game of tag by the river. One childishly innocent game that changed my life forever.
It was a bright morning with the sun almost overhead. Chatot frolicked among the braches as they watched for the ever-tasty Kricketot. Julio and I were playing an energetic game of tag by a fast river that was home to many a mindless Magikarp that were too stupid to move anywhere else. In our play, I leapt at Julio but he sprang out of the way and I jumped into the river instead. Seeing as I couldn't swim a stroke, I was almost certainly dead. Water rushed into my ears and soaked through my soft coat. My bushy tail became an anchor because it absorbed so much water. Just as I felt the undercurrent tugging at my hind feet, two strong paws latched onto the fur around my neck. They belonged to a Buizel. As we broke the surface, we spotted a frantic Julio on the riverbank. "Julia! Oh thank Arceus you're alive! Do you have any idea what dad would've said if I'd told him that one of his kits drowned? Not to mention the SHINY ONE!"
At that point, the Buizel looked at me. Sunlight danced on my wet reddish-gold fur. The water lapped gently against my side, unlike the vicious undercurrent that had tried to sweep me down to Lugia's home. "Uh... thanks, um… Mr Buizel…," I spluttered lungs half full of water. The Buizel towed me to the side of the river and helped me out. "Are you alright Julia? You nearly drowned," he asked anxiously. "Who are you, Buizel?" Julio butted in rudely. "Me? I'm a Riverdog, the only family of Buizel that can live in the lovely waters of the sea. The salt turned our collars green. But you can call me Brine," he replied cheerily. "Well, thanks Brine, but we don't need help from green-collared Buizel. So you can swim back to your sea home and we'll never see you again. Bye!" Julio snapped in my defense. I shot him a warning look and got up shakily. Brine climbed out of the water and helped me up. As I coughed up some more water, he turned to Julio and replied, "Looks like you do need help. For one, you're a Flareon and if you run into any trouble you'll be weak from the water and you'll have to watch Julia. Second, you can't carry her all the way back to your home, even if it's just behind that bush, for your own safety. Go get your parents and I'll stay and watch your sister." My over-protective brother started to protest but he realized that he couldn't show Brine where our home was. After all, we were living right near Veilstone City and any human that spotted us could be a potential danger. "Parent, green-collared Buizel. We only have one," he spat and he stormed off into the bushes.
As soon as Julio had disappeared into the nearest shrub, Brine turned to face me. "Are you alright Julia?" he asked, ignoring Julio's rudeness. I nodded weakly and shook myself down, water droplets flying everywhere. "How much water did you swallow?" he persisted. "A few big gulps, Mr Brine. Why?" I replied. "Please Julia, just call me Brine. I'm asking because humans use this river to carry sewage and rubbish and stuff. The local Pokémon are building a dam to cut the waste off but it's not entirely finished yet. Some of the rubbish is still getting through and polluting the water. How much did you swallow?" he persisted. "A few big gulps," I repeated. Suddenly, I felt a streak of pain in my stomach. The emotion must have shown on my face because Brine's eyes widened and he scampered off to look for a Pecha berry.
"I'M BACK JULIA! AND I GOT HELP!" Julio burst through the bushes followed shortly by my father. Seeing me in agony on the ground, Julio rushed over to my side. "Julia, are you okay?" he yelled concernedly in my ear. I nodded slowly, too weak to move my mouth. "Sweet Arceus Julia, what happened?" whimpered Julio. Footfalls behind him signaled that Brine had returned. My father sensed his approach and knocked him to the ground before he could get any closer. "What did you do to my daughter, Buizel?" he growled, sparks dancing through his spiky fur.